His Crown Jewel
by Lauren Kassidy
Summary: Olivia Carnahan, famed for being by Howard Carter's side when he discovered Tutankhamun's tomb, would jump at any chance to discover more of Ancient Egypt's secrets. And when it is her brother and sister who discover a way to get to the fabled city of Hamunaptra, Olivia tags along for the ride. But a certain Medjai warrior catches her eye as her next adventure surpasses her last.
1. Chapter One

His Crown Jewel

By Lauren Kassidy

Chapter One

Olivia Carnahan looked up at the Cairo Museum of Antiquities, holding her suitcase in one hand and her hat in the other. She had been given leave by her employer for her recent hard work, and the first thing she did was head straight to Cairo from the Valley of the Kings to see her twin brother Jonathan and their younger sister Evelyn.

Evy was working hard in the library, aspiring to be an Egyptologist like Olivia and her parents. Jonathan, on the other hand, was drinking away the money his parents left him. But Olivia still loved him; they had a similar sense of humour and she missed him terribly. She was also different to Evy, in such she was not clumsy or prim and proper. They all had their differences but Olivia loved them both, knowing her recent adventures would soon reach eager ears.

Entering the Museum, Olivia made her way along the familiar route to the library but before she could enter, she bumped into Dr Terrence Bey, the curator of the Museum. He looked angry and flustered. "Evy," Olivia muttered. They had a somewhat tumultuous relationship. Dr Bey's eyes lit up when he saw Olivia.

"Miss Carnahan!" he greeted, as they shared a hug. "Oh how wonderful to see you."

"Hello Dr Bey," she said warmly.

"Congratulations on your recent finding!" he said. "It was all over the news; I am so pleased for you after all your hard work."

"Thank you, that is most kind, I still cannot believe it myself," Olivia grinned at the mention of her excavation with her employer and friend Howard Carter.

"Your parents would be so proud of you," he said kindly. "As for your other siblings, _well_...particularly Evelyn. She has just made a complete mess of my library!"

"Ah...oh dear, she always was clumsy," she joked weakly. "If you excuse me Dr Bey, but I must catch up with Evy."

"Of course," he sighed. "Perhaps take her on your next expedition, will you?"

He shook his head and Olivia patted his shoulder before entering the library, where she saw an incredible sight; every single bookcase had fallen over and the floor was littered with books and bits of paper. Evelyn Carnahan stood in the middle of the chaos, staring at the mess she had made.

"Nothing ever changes," Olivia quipped. Evy turned and broke out into a grin when she saw her sister standing by the doorway.

"Livy!" Evy exclaimed, quickly walking over to her. Olivia dropped her bags to receive a hug from her. "It is so good to see you sister."

"And you," Olivia replied, as they let each other go.

"I cannot believe you found him!" Evy said, her eyes lighting up in excitement. "After all your hard work and research—_you actually found him!_"

"My life's pursuit is completed," Olivia told her. "Now it is time for us to complete yours, don't you think?"

"The Book of Amun-Ra," Evy sighed wistfully. "Maybe someday."

"Howard has given me leave from the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb, so what do you say?" Olivia asked hopefully. "You need some more experience rather than being stuck in here."

Evy nodded. "I am so proud of you though," she said, holding Olivia's hands. "It was so exciting to see you on the news! You must tell us all about it over some tea later."

"Yes...Evy, what _did_ you do in this library?" Olivia suddenly remembered the mess around them and Evy looked at her sheepishly. But before she could answer, a noise came from the room full of treasures from Ancient Egypt. "What was that?"

Evy frowned and turned, with Olivia following her into the Antiques room.

"Hello?" Evy called out, while Olivia grabbed a burning torch. They walked forwards a little in the dark and dusty room. "Abdul? Mohammed? Bob?"

A _thump_ made Evy and Olivia jump to their left. "I'm sure it's just someone having a joke," Olivia reassured her, but the echoes and bumps that she encountered in Tutankhamun's tomb crept back into her mind nevertheless.

"It came from inside that coffin," Evy whispered as they crept towards it. Evy leaned over slightly as Olivia held the torch above, and then—

"Aah!" Olivia and Evy shrieked together as a skeleton popped up out of its resting place. But, all was well as they heard the laughter of Jonathan. He sat up, delighted at how his trick went.

"Have you no respect for the dead?" Evy asked, appalled.

"Of course I do!" he said, propping the skeleton's arm up. "But sometimes, I'd rather like to join them—Livy!"

"Hey Jonathan," she grinned, happy to see his cheeky smile once again.

"Well I wish you'd do it sooner rather than later," Evy snapped. "Before you ruin my career the way you ruined yours, now _get out_."

As they helped him out he quipped, "My dear, sweet, baby sister I'll have you _know_ that at this precise moment my career is on a high note!"

"High note, _ha_."

"How have you been brother of mine?" Olivia asked, embracing him in a hug.

"Same old Livy," he said, giving her a squeeze. "And how did _you_ scare so easily just now? I would have thought meeting King Tut would have hardened your nerves," he joked.

"_No_ because _King Tut_ didn't jump out and shout _boo_...Evy what is the matter?"

She had sat down, looking gloomy. "Oh I'm just not in the mood for this because I've just made a bit of a mess—"

"_A 'bit'_?"

"—in the library and the Bembridge scholars have rejected my application form again. They say I don't have enough experience in the field."

Olivia and Jonathan shared a look before crouching down in front of her. They each took her hand, as they used to do when they were younger, and he said, "You'll always have us, old mum."

They grinned at each as Evy was cheered up by having both her brother and sister with her. "Besides," Jonathan continued, jumping up and rummaging around in the coffin. "I have just the thing to cheer you up!"

Olivia sat by Evy, watching amused as she said, "Oh _no_, Jonathan, not another worthless trinket. If I have to take one more piece of junk to the curator to try and...sell for you."

But they all stared at what Jonathan held out for them. It was a little box, with intricate designs on. "Where did you get this?" Olivia asked him as they inspected it.

"Oh, on a dig down in...er, Thebes," he said. Olivia always knew when he was lying and so gave him a look of contempt, which he replied with a wink. "My whole life I've never found anything, please tell me I've found something!"

Evy began to play around with it using her fingers until—_click_. They gasped as it opened at the top in sort of star shape, revealing something inside.

"Jonathan..."

"Yes?"

"I think you've found something!" Evy pulled out the paper-like material. "Come on, we must show Dr Bey."

They all stood up and hurried to his office, Evy having opened it out and inspecting it. "What's on it Evy?" asked Olivia but got no reply as they had now reached his office. Evy knocked urgently and they entered.

"What is it?" Dr Bey asked. "Are you _sorting_ out my library?"

"Well, no," Evy admitted. "But my brother has found something."

Dr Bey gave the three of them a look as he has obviously been through this before, many times. "Oh?"

Evy placed the box onto this table, and laid out its contents in front of him. He studied it for a few seconds with his eye-glass. Olivia did not miss his fleeting alarmed look at seeing the what looked like a map.

"You see the cartouche there?" Evy asked. "It's the official royal seal of Seti the First, I'm sure of it."

Olivia leaned over, suddenly extremely curious. Hardly anything had been found of this particular pharaoh's reign and what is this map leading them to?

"Perhaps," Dr Bey muttered, quickly recovered from looking startled.

"Two questions," said Jonathan. "Who the hell was Seti the First and was he rich?"

"He was the second pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty, is that right Evy?" Olivia told him, receiving a nod from her sister.

"He is said to be the wealthiest pharaoh of them all," Evy continued. Olivia could hardly imagine what they would find of his; it could even dwarf Tutankhamun's treasures.

"Good, that's good," Jonathan said, relived. "I like this fellow, I like him very much!"

"I've already dated the map," Evy said to Dr Bey. "It's almost three thousand years old."

"How do you know that?" Olivia asked, scanning the map.

"Because if you look at the hieratic just here," Evy pointed. "Well...it's Hamunaptra."

"_The_ Hamunaptra?" Olivia asked, astounded. "Incredible..."

"Dear God, don't be ridiculous!" said Dr Bey. "We're scholars, not treasure hunters. Hamunpatra's only a myth told by ancient Arab storytellers to amuse Greek and Roman tourists."

"Yes, yes, I know," Evy said impatiently. "I know all the silly blather about the city being protected by the curse of the mummy nonsense _but_ my research has led me to believe the city itself may have actually existed."

"Are we talking about _the_ Hamunaptra?" Jonathan enquired.

"Yes. The City of the Dead."

"Where the earliest pharaohs were said to have hidden the wealth of Egypt."

"Yes," Jonathan always knew his history of gold, Olivia mused. "In a big underground treasure chamber." Dr Bey snorted. "Oh _come_ _on_, everybody knows the story. The entire necropolis was rigged to sink into the sand on Pharaoh's command."

"Turn a switch and the whole place would disappear beneath the sand dunes," Olivia said.

"Taking the treasure with it."

"As the Americans would say, it's all fairy tales and hokum—oh my Goodness! Look at that!" Dr Bey had leaned the map too close to his candle and the edge set fire; he threw it down onto the floor and the siblings leapt forward to save it.

"Was that an accident?" Olivia challenged. "Because you are usually a very _careful_ curator."

He said nothing but Jonathan exclaimed, "You burnt off the part with the lost city!"

"It's for the best I'm sure," he countered. "Many men have wasted their lives in the foolish pursuit of Hamunaptra. No one's ever found it. Most have never returned."

"Which surely means something is out there?" Olivia asked him.

"Now if you'll please excuse me," Dr Bey said, standing up and holding out his arm towards the door. "I have much work to be getting on with."

They sighed and left, taking the map and the box.

"Well, first thing is first, we go back to the dig where Jonathan found the box," Evy said defiantly. Jonathan looked at Olivia uncomfortably. "If Bembridge Scholars want more experience in the field then they are damn well going to get it."

Olivia grinned at her. "Good for you!"

"But first, let us go have a drink and celebrate Livy's recent success," Evy said excitedly.

"Now you're talking my language," Jonathan said. "Lead on!"

And so Olivia looked forward to her next adventure, tagging along with Evy and Jonathan. She looked forward to more expeditions and digs.

Thinking back to Lord Carnarvon, who financed the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb, and his sudden death, Olivia would be glad to get away from what the media are calling 'the mummy's curse.'

Author's Note:

Well, there you have it :) my first Mummy fanfiction. I recently re-watched it on TV (it was my favourite movie when I was younger) and I fell in love all over again with Ardeth Bay so I just had to start this story. Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

A few days later, after Olivia and Jonathan had helped Evy get the library back in one piece, Olivia waved goodbye as her brother and sister jumped into the car, to get their expedition started. Hopefully they would find the owner of the 'puzzle box', as Evy called it, and then be on their way to Hamunaptra. Olivia chuckled, knowing Evy was going to get one hell of a surprise when Jonathan drives her to Cairo Prison; his research had told him that the guy he pick-pocketed had ended up there.

She returned inside to Evy's apartment, where she was staying whilst on leave from her work, and set about finding a cheap way down the Nile using the many leaflets Evy had stored. This was, of course, being based entirely on myth over where Hamunaptra is, and of course using the non-burnt parts of the map from the box. Another thing Evy had set her to do was to start packing the essentials they'd need—so, Olivia got to work.

In the background, Olivia had the radio on, and talk turned to King Tutankhamun's tomb. She smiled in pride as she heard her name thrown around here and there as recent developments were discussed. Howard, her friend and employer since her late teens, had seen her potential after she had left Oxford University and she had been by his side ever since.

November 26th. The day Lord Carnarvon arrived, Howard finally chiselled away at the left hand corner of the doorway, after they had found steps in the Valley of the Kings. "Can you see anything?" Olivia had asked excitedly. "Yes," came the reply. "Wonderful things."

If going to Hamunaptra was going to be as exciting as finding the Boy King's tomb, and if Evy finally had a chance at the success she deserved, then Olivia frankly couldn't wait. Her friends back home who were married and had children were missing out on the adventures..._who needs all that._

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Evy and Jonathan burst into the room, looking completely flustered.

"How'd it go?"

"Well we drove to Cairo Prison," Evy started, glaring at her brother, who smiled sheepishly. "And we found him. A filthy criminal, holding the key to finding Hamunaptra!"

"Did you find out anything?"

"Not quite..." Evy said, but then broke out into a grin. "But he's going to take us to Hamunaptra!"

"And back again," Jonathan added.

"That's great!"

"So have you found anything?" Evy asked. "Is there a boat available?"

"I think I've found one," Olivia replied, pulling out the leaflet. "It has rooms available for a few nights, food...if we take a walk down tomorrow we should be able to book it in time."

And so it was all settled. The man, a Rick O'Connell, was staying locally after Evy had saved his life and Jonathan drove to his hotel, telling him when they were meeting. And so, even more days later, Olivia, Evy and Jonathan walked down the banks of the Nile with their suitcases, stopping by the boat that would start their voyage.

Olivia was wearing an Egyptian-style dress, perfect for the blistering heat, and had a small pistol tucked inside the layers for precaution. Her sister, on the other hand, was wearing a typical Western dress, her heels and an extravagant hat; Olivia wondered sometimes how they were so different but yet were sisters. Evy had curly dark hair whilst Olivia had straight black locks; this was their Egyptian blood, one of their few similarities.

"Do you _really_ think he's going to show up?" Evy asked sceptically as they waited by the ramp.

"You saved the man's _life_," Olivia reminded her. "I'm sure he will."

"Yes, undoubtedly, knowing my luck," said Jonathan. "He may be a cowboy, but I know the breed. His word is his word."

"Well personally I think he's filthy, rude, a _complete_ scoundrel," Evy directed at Olivia. "I don't like him one bit."

Suddenly, an American voice sounded from behind them. "Anyone I know?"

Olivia turned to see quite a handsome man in a shirt and blazer, who had his eyebrows raised at Evy's comments. She smirked as Evy's mouth dropped open in surprise as she admired him, looking him over. "Hello..."

"Smashing day for the start of an adventure, eh O'Connell?" Jonathan said, patting him on the chest and shaking his hand, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah...smashing," O'Connell replied uncertainly, checking his blazer pocket.

"Oh no, no, I'd never steal from a partner, partner," Jonathan chuckled.

O'Connell laughed along slightly and then said, "Oh that reminds me, no hard feelings about the—?" He made a punching gesture with his fist.

"Oh no, no, happens all the time," Jonathan replied casually, causing Olivia to chuckle at that sad truth.

It was then that O'Connell noticed Olivia. "Hello," she said to him warmly, shaking his hand. "I'm Olivia, their sister."

He nodded his head. "Pleasure. I'm Rick."

"Mr O'Connell," Evy said strongly. "Can you look me in the eye and guarantee me that this all isn't some kind of a flimflam?" Olivia felt a pang of embarrassment in her gut on Evy's behalf for that awful British word. "Because if it is, I am warning you—"

"You're _warning_ me?" Rick said in disbelief. "Lady, let me put it this way. My whole damn garrison believed in this so much that without orders they marched halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that city. And when we got there, all we found was sand and blood."

There was an uneasy silence which made Olivia forget about Evy's attempts at warning O'Connell.

"Let me get your bags," he added on a lighter note and walked up on the ramp, onto their boat.

Evy stared after him as went, with Jonathan saying sarcastically, "Yes, yes, you're right. Filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel, nothing to like there at all."

They all grinned at each other until a voice interrupted them. "Bright good morning to all!"

It was a smelly, fat, short Egyptian man. "Oh _no_, what are you doing here?" Evy asked, disgruntled.

"I am here to protect my investment," he said, making his way up the ramp too. "Thank you very much."

Evy and Jonathan sighed, whilst Olivia asked, "Who on earth was that?"

"The prison warden," Evy muttered. "I said he could have 25 percent of what we find in Hamunaptra."

"Right," announced Jonathan, boarding the boat with his sisters following. "Time to find the bar."

* * *

A little while later, after Olivia had found her room and unpacked, she wandered around the boat, finding out where everything is until she bumped into Rick O'Connell. The moon was high in the sky now as the noises of the river surrounded them.

"Oh, hello Rick," she smiled.

"Olivia," he acknowledged. "So you found Tutankhamun's tomb then huh?"

"How did you know?" she teased as they walked down the deck towards the chatter of people.

"I recognised you from your photo in the paper," he told her.

"Ah."

"So what are you doing going to Hamunaptra?" he asked her.

"Well, for my efforts Howard gave me some time off," Olivia explained. "And, by chance, when I arrived back in Cairo to visit Evy and Jonathan—"

"—they had found a way to Hamunaptra," he finished for her.

"That's right. I would never have missed _this_." Rick chuckled. "What's in the bag?"

"Weapons."

Olivia stared, noticing the size of it and realizing how much ammunition must be in there. She pulled out her own pistol to show Rick. "And here's me, thinking I came prepared," she joked.

He looked at her with respect as they rounded the corner onto the main deck, where people were sitting and drinking with one another. Rick nodded towards Jonathan's direction as Olivia put her pistol away out of sight, and they made their way over to him and his new friends.

"Oh, O'Connell, sit down!" Jonathan invited. "We could use another player...hey Livy."

"Jonathan," Olivia warned. "You're not gambling _again_ are you?"

He waved a hand at her. "O'Connell?"

"I only gamble with my life and never with my money," he replied, as Olivia looked at him admirably.

"Never?" replied one of those playing; he sounded American. "What if I was to bet you $500 that we get to Hamunaptra before you?"

"You're looking for Hamunaptra?" Olivia asked, stunned.

"Damn straight we are," said another American, as he winked a little bit at her. "And who might you be?"

"This is Olivia, my sister," Jonathan said proudly. Was he a little bit tipsy already? "She helped find Tutankhamun's tomb."

"Oh so you're Miss Carnahan?" said the blonde American, grinning at her as the others looked up sharply at her introduction.

"Watch it," Rick warned, as Olivia frowned at his arrogance. "Anyway...who says _we_ are?"

"He does," they all said in unison, pointing at Jonathan.

"_Jonathan!_" Olivia hissed. He laughed nervously.

"Well, how about it? Is it a bet?"

"Alright, you're on," Rick replied, smiling.

"What makes you so confident, sir?" asked a British voice, sitting away from the others. Olivia recognised him as the Egyptologist Dr. Allen Chamberlin, formerly attached to the Metropolitan Museum in New York. He suddenly left under a cloud of scandal and when Evy found out she called him "treasure hunting riffraff."

"Well what makes you?" Rick countered.

"We've got us a man who's actually been there," said the blonde American cockily.

"Oh what a coincidence because O'Connell—" Before he could finish, Rick's bag collided with his head. "Whose play is it? Is it my play? I thought I just..."

"Gentleman, we've got ourselves a wager. Good evening _Jonathan_," Rick said, clamping his hand down on Jonathan's shoulder as a warning to say no more on Hamunaptra.

"Hey Olivia, come and join us," invited the blonde American. "Perhaps you'll be my lucky charm."

She shrugged. "Alright, I don't see why not." Pulling up a chair she sat by him.

"I'm Henderson," he introduced himself, planting a kiss on Olivia's knuckles. "That's Burns and that's Daniels."

"How do you do," she murmured, watching as they split the deck, serve the cards and began to play. And to Olivia's immense surprise, Henderson actually won that round.

"Well if you excuse me gentlemen," she said, getting up. "I must retire to my room now."

"Yeah, I'll come with you," Jonathan muttered miserably, his luck seemingly ran out.

"That's a shame," said Henderson. "You really were my lucky charm." He winked at her again and she couldn't but smile back a little; Jonathan frowned at this. "Goodnight."

"Night all."

Olivia and Jonathan left the deck, walking inside. "Those beastly Americans have taken a lot of my money," he said with an annoyed tone.

"Why didn't you cheat like you normally do?" she asked, amused.

"That's the thing, Olivia—_I tried_!"

She laughed but stopped dead in her tracks as a black robe whipped around the next corner of the hall. "Did you see that?"

Jonathan nodded. "And do you hear _that_?" he asked worriedly.

The sound of gunshots being fired and also the smell of smoke hit them both quickly.

"EVY!" they both yelled, running down the hall towards her room.

"Evy?" Jonathan yelled again, running into her burning room, knocking over a hooked man with a black cloak into the fire. Olivia stared in horror and hoped to God that Evy was alright.

"Jonathan! Grab the box, it's on the floor!"

But it was too late; the hook man had taken it first, so they both ran from the burning room. As they reached outside, other cloaked men were setting fire to the boat as people began to jump in the river.

Olivia grabbed her pistol instinctively and began shooting at the nearest cloaked men whilst returning to her room, which was nearby; grabbing some of her essentials, she left again, turning a corner and bumping back into Jonathan.

"_What the bloody hell is going on_?" he yelled in fear as they dodged bullets and fire.

"How am I supposed to know?" she retorted crossly but they both stared in amusement, despite the situation, as Rick picked Evy up and tossed her into the river. "Thank God she's alright," Olivia sighed in relief.

But before Rick could jump in after her, he was attacked, dropping his bag of ammunition. Olivia ran to his aid and grabbed the man from behind as he strangled Rick, throwing him to the floor as she did so. Rick nodded in thanks, before picking the man back up and punching him into the inferno.

"You alright?" he asked Olivia breathlessly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded. "Yeah—now let's get the hell out of here!"

"O'Connell! O'Connell!" the prison warden ran up to them. "What are we going to do?"

"Stay here," he advised. "I'll go get help."

"Right."

"I'll go make sure Jonathan's alright," she muttered, hiding a small smile from the stupid warden.

"Alright but don't be too long," Rick warned her as he leapt over the boat.

Olivia ran to where she had left Jonathan, who was watching the Americans shoot the cloaked men, cowboy style. "_Americans._"

Before Olivia had time to react and shoot her pistol, one of the men in the black robes was burning alive and was coming towards them menacingly. She grabbed onto her brother in fear as he grabbed her, before being saved by Henderson.

"I say, bloody good show chaps!" Jonathan shouted over them. "And did I panic? I think _not_."

He held up the box in triumph and Olivia asked him, amazed, "How did you get that back?"

Before he could answer her a great flame of fire exploded, throwing him into the water. Olivia ran and grabbed Henderson, who was still firing his gun. "Come on you idiot, this boat is going to blow!"

They all jumped off of the boat. Olivia felt the cold water hitting her skin painfully as the current pulled on her dress, threatening to drag her down. Spluttering, she followed her companions to the shore.

"We've lost _everything_," Evy said in disbelief as the boat burned behind them and the others assembled on the other bank. "All of our tools, all the equipment, all of our clothes!"

"O'Connell! Hey, O'Connell!" shouted a voice from the opposite bank. "It looks me to like I've got all the horses!"

"Hey, Beni," taunted Rick, in a sing-song voice. "It looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the river!"

Olivia grinned at Beni's response before asking Rick, "Who even is that?"

"He's the guy leading the Americans to Hamunaptra," he answered. "He was with me in the foreign legion."

"So what now?" asked Jonathan, as they stood there shivering.

"We head to the nearest village and buy some camels, food, equipment," Rick said, leading the way off of the river bank.

"...and clothes," Evy said hopefully as she wrapped her arms around her nightgown.

"Do you think our boat was attacked because a lot of us are going to Hamunaptra?" Olivia asked.

"Yes," said Rick, looking serious. "I recognise those guys. They were watching me last time I was there."

Author's Note:

Thank you for your response to the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed the second instalment :) hopefully we can get Ardeth in the picture verrrrry soon...


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

After a tiring (and wet) walk to a nearby village, Olivia was glad to rest there for the reminder of the night. She was exhausted, but most of all confused; they were attacked, brutally too, and for what? To protect Hamunaptra? To protect her secrets? Those men in black cloaks had watched the army of Tuaregs slaughter the French Foreign Legion and left Rick to die in the desert.

_What the hell was going on? _This was already more dangerous and, Olivia admitted to the group, even a little more exciting than her previous expedition and they haven't even reached Hamunaptra yet. Evy frowned when she used the word 'exciting' to describe their near deaths but Rick merely smiled at her adventurous nature.

"There is something out there, something underneath that sand," Rick had told Olivia in hushed tones, probably so Evy didn't hear and say anymore about 'hokum' and 'fairy stories.'

"What do you think it is?"

"In a word? Evil," he had replied. "The Bedouin and the Tuaregs believe that Hamunaptra is cursed. I think they may be right."

Olivia and Evy shared a room in the local Inn when they had arrived. Evy whispered, "Livy...I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

"Mr O'Connell...well, he kissed me."

"Oh yeah, I know," Olivia said casually, turning over in her bed to face their candle.

"You _know_?"

"Jonathan told me," Olivia stated, referring to her twin brother. "Obviously."

"Of course," Evy sighed.

"So what's the problem?" Olivia asked tentatively. "Do you like him?"

There was a pause. "I don't know...but I have been dwelling on our kiss," Evy admitted. Olivia raised her eyebrows at this; Evy _was_ quite the introvert when it came to talking about men.

"Oh?" Olivia smiled to her sister. "Well...he is very handsome."

"And rude, and I suppose technically a criminal, and..." Evy trailed off, sighing again and blowing out the candle to signal the conversation is now over.

"Stop making excuses to _not_ like him," Olivia advised. She did not receive a reply so all she could do was hope Evy was thinking about her advice. She rather liked Rick and would love to have him as a brother-in-law.

The following morning, after their short sleep in the village, Olivia and Evy went to buy some clothes whilst Rick and Jonathan sorted out some transport seeing as their boat and their horses were now indisposed. Olivia laughed as she was twirled around by an elderly Egyptian lady, who took great delight in dressing up the strangers; another lady was brushing Evy's curly hair. They were dressed in a long and beautiful tightly fitted Bedouin dress.

"**We can show your husband just how beautiful you look**," the eldest said to Evy in Arabic. Olivia laughed at this; Evy _was_ taking a fancy to Rick, and at this statement her face reddened and she spluttered.

"**Oh, no, no, he is not my husband**," she said bashfully. "**Thank you for your kindness, ladies."**

The giggling women nevertheless escorted Olivia and Evy back outside into the sun, where Rick and Jonathan were buying camels. Evy stayed behind to pay them whilst Olivia made her way to the men, where Jonathan was having a little tiff with the camel man.

"I only want four! Four!" he protested. "I only want _four_, not a whole bloody herd!" He turned to Rick and Olivia. "Can you believe this cheat?"

"Will you just pay the man?" Rick asked him, exasperated. Olivia remembered with glee that Jonathan was the only one with a fair amount of money on him. He's going to _love_ that.

"Oh for heaven's _sakes_, can't believe the price of these fleabags," he said, flicking through his notes and paying the man. "Yes, _very good_!"

Olivia patted Jonathan on the back as she took a hold of one of the camels, rubbing his nose. She thought they were quite cute.

"You probably could've got them for free," Rick said. "All we had to do was give him your sisters."

"I don't think so," Olivia hit back at his teasing. But she smiled even wider when Rick caught sight of Evy wearing, for her, a rather sexy-looking dress.

"Yes, awfully tempting wasn't it?" said Jonathan, winking at Olivia.

"You will get a slap my dear baby brother," Olivia joked.

"_Baby_? I'm only younger by two whole minutes, I'll have you know!"

"Awfully..." Rick trailed off, not paying any attention the other two, still staring at Evy.

Olivia then winked at Jonathan, who looked unsure as to whether be outraged or not, and she jumped up onto her camel. The prison warden was, to Olivia's annoyance, still following them and once everybody had enough supplies and was on a camel, they said farewell to the kind villagers and continued on their way to Hamunaptra.

"Never did like camels," Jonathan told them bluntly. "Filthy buggers. They smell, they bite, they _spit_." And at that moment the prison warden too spat and Olivia looked at him in disgust; he was nothing more than a smelly animal himself. "Disgusting!"

"Well I think they're adorable," Evy grinned, reaching forward to pat hers on the head. She was having the time of her life on that camel.

"I love them too," Olivia agreed. "I had one camel that stayed with me throughout the discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb. Just as loyal as any horse, I say."

The prison warden, to Olivia's dismay, then began singing. The sun continued to beat down on them harshly.

_It was going to be a very long day._

* * *

Olivia remembered how it was. Out here, in the desert. In the vast emptiness, there was only wasteland and sand and rocks. The dusty air and the heat waves; the blinding sun and its extremely hot rays. They got deeper and deeper into the majestic desert; it felt like the end of the world. She was glad of her dress, hopefully protecting her skin somewhat.

Eventually, the sun began to set, making way for twilight. The beautiful red sky eventually darkened and only the light of the stars and the moon remained. Jonathan was asleep, his head bobbing comically to the rhythm of his camel. The warden was snoring loudly, and Evy was slowly sliding off of her saddle sleepily. Olivia watched as Rick reached over and stopped her, gently pushing her back up onto her saddle. He never woke her.

But the sound of horses neighing made Olivia's breath hitch as she turned to see where it had come from. Standing atop a distant ridge were men on horses, watching them. They must be those same men who attacked them on the Nile. Even though it was very dark Olivia felt their eyes on her and she shivered.

"Rick," she whispered. "Is that...?"

"Yes," he murmured. "It won't be the last time we see them, that's for sure."

* * *

The following morning, they rounded a giant sand dune; the dawning sun hadn't yet crested the distant horizon.

"...and you snore!" said Jonathan to the warden, having had enough of him already.

"I do not snore!"

"All night you snored!"

"I have never snored!"

In front of them, Rick said to Evy and Olivia, "We're almost there."

"Are you sure?" Evy asked skeptically, looking around the barren wasteland. Rick simply raised an eyebrow at her comment.

Then, the American Expedition rode out from behind the far end of the sand dune. With them must have been at least two dozen native diggers. Beni was leading on a camel, with everybody else on a horse.

"Good morning, my friend," Beni greeted. Rick nodded back.

The two parties stopped about one hundred feet apart and Rick and Beni both turned to stare at the horizon. Olivia shared a puzzled look with Evy and Jonathan.

"Well what the hell we doin'?" asked Daniels, as the Americans looked just as confused as Olivia and her companions did.

"Patience, my good _barat'm_, patience."

"Remember our bet, O'Connell?" said Henderson, looking over to Rick. "First one to the city: five hundred cash bucks."

"One hundred bucks is yours if you help us win that bet," Daniels said to Beni.

"Oh my pleasure." Rick scoffed and shook his head.

Rick and Beni continue to stare out into the flat nothingness. But then, the sun started to rise in the distance, breaking the flat horizon. "Get ready for it."

"For what?" Evy asked.

"We're about to be shown the way."

Olivia recognised her current feelings from before; the suspense of finding something from Ancient Egypt, the excitement and the butterflies. They were almost there. She stared in amazement as a huge shape rose with the sun, almost like a mirage.

The American treasure hunters even admired it. "Well will you look at _that_?"

"Can you believe it?"

"Hamunaptra!"

"Here we go again," Rick muttered.

What looked like the ruins of a large wall protecting a city inside appeared in front of their very eyes. Olivia could hardly believe what she was seeing. But, she didn't have time to dwell now—everybody had began to gallop towards it for that five hundred dollars, so she followed suit.

At first it was Beni and Rick, who were neck-and-neck. But then, something happened that Olivia did _not _expect—her sister rode straight past Rick, and was the first one to reach Hamunaptra.

"Go, Evy! Go!" Jonathan called, whooping as he did.

"She looks like she's having the time of her life on that camel," Olivia mused, happy she was coming out of her studious shell.

"Yes...cannot think why," Jonathan replied, staring down at his own camel in disgust. Olivia just laughed as her hair flew in the wind, and she eventually reached Hamunaptra too.

* * *

So, it began. They had set up a little camp for themselves, away from the other group, and they began preparing to excavate. At the moment they were just surrounded by ruins of pillars, crumbling walls and some statues so they couldn't wait to get inside and below, to see what was _really_ down there.

The Egyptologist Chamberlin was directing his diggers to unblock the main entrance—they hauled rock and dirt out of the Temple doorway. The Americans simply looked on. Henderson noticed that Olivia was staring at their work and he gave her yet another wink. Olivia recoiled—he was a good-looking man, there was no denying that, but his personality ruined his nice looks. Which was a shame.

Her group, however, were working next to a narrow crevice. Rick tied a piece of rope around a pillar, throwing the coils into the crevice.

"That's the statue of Anubis, its legs go deep underground," Evy told them, as they were right by a massive, scary-looking head.

"It gives me the creeps," Jonathan muttered. Though it was decrepit, Olivia couldn't help but agree.

"Be nice, that thing saved my life," Rick stated.

"Well, that thing gets me excited," Evy said excitedly. "According to Bembridge Scholars, that's where we'll find a secret compartment, containing the golden _Book of Amun-Ra_."

"So what are these old mirrors for?" Rick asked Olivia, looking at some lying on the ground.

"_Ancient_ mirrors," Olivia corrected him. "It's an Ancient Egyptian trick. You'll see."

Rick shrugged, and, catching Olivia's eye, he subtly gestured to Evy. "Ah," she murmured, smiling slightly.

Rick held out a tool set. "Do you think she'll like it?"

"She'll love it," Olivia reassured him, patting his arm and leaving him to it, wondering who he stole that from.

She watched as Rick gave Evy the gift and how she looked when she received it—they were definitely a couple in the making. They bought out the best in each other.

A few minutes later, Rick rappelled down into the crevice, as the warden said, "Look for bugs. I hate bugs!"

* * *

"Do you realise we're standing in a room that no one has entered in over three thousand years?" Evy said in an admiring voice. Olivia certainly understood how _that_ felt, having been through it before with Tutankhamun's tomb. At the moment, though, it was just a spooky darkness.

"What is that God-awful stench?" Jonathan asked, as he jumped down after Olivia. He looked up as the warden followed him, sniffing and realising where the smell was coming from. "Oh."

Olivia motioned to one of the mirrors, and Evy understood her; she grabbed one, tilting it upwards so it caught the light. "And then there was...light." The ray of light hit the mirror and shot around the room, from mirror to mirror, until the whole chamber was lit up. Olivia recognised the room as the embalmer's chamber.

"Hey, that is a neat trick!" Rick said, looking around.

"Oh my God, it's a _Sah-Netjer_!" Evy said, looking directly at Olivia as if reading her thoughts.

"A what?"

"A preparation room," Olivia explained as they walked further in.

"Preparation for _what_?" Rick asked.

"For entering the afterlife!" Evy replied playfully.

Rick quickly drew out his gun as Jonathan said, "Mummies, my good son. This is where they made the mummies!"

"I hope I find another one," Olivia said, with no regrets over how excited she sounded; Rick gave her a look. "What? I love finding dead people."

They left the chamber and made their way down a cobweb infested labyrinth; Rick led the way, holding his gun aloft. Olivia too had her pistol at the ready—just in case. Slowly they moved forward and it got darker and darker. Then suddenly, the sound of what Olivia thought to be lots and lots of bugs surrounded them, as if they were moving inside the walls and even above and below them. Eventually the sound died away.

"What was that?"

"Sounds like...bugs," Rick answered.

"He said bugs!" Evy directed to the warden, who looked to be in state of panic.

"What do you mean, bugs? I hate bugs!"

"You are more than welcome to wait for us up top," Olivia suggested, to which he frowned at her attempts to get rid of him.

Soon they reached the giant half-buried legs of Anubis. Rick shined his light so they could see. "The secret compartment should be hidden somewhere inside here," Evy said, as they saw that its feet stood atop a massive chest with drawings on.

However, another sound made them freeze. It was getting closer and closer to them, from the other side of the statue. It sounded like distorted voices. They edged along the side of the massive chest, as they cocked their guns, ready to use them if absolutely necessary; Olivia's heart pumped furiously at the suspense.

They followed Rick's lead and jumped out to face the noises. Olivia, and everybody else, sighed in relief as the American expedition lunged at them too. Their guns were also cocked and aimed.

"You scared the bejeezus out of us O'Connell," Henderson admitted.

"Likewise," Rick replied as they lowered their guns slightly.

"Hey, that's my tool kit!" Burns said, pointing at the brown package in Evy's arms.

"No, I don't think so," Rick snarled as they all raised their guns at each other again.

"Okay..." Burns backed away, staring at the gun in his face. "Perhaps I was mistaken." The guns were lowered once again.

"Well have a nice day gentlemen," Evy intercepted, "we have a lot of work to be getting along with."

"Push off!" said Chamberlin. "This is our dig site."

"We got here first!" Evy said, narrowing her eyes at him.

And, for the third time, Olivia found herself with her pistol raised. "This here's our statue, friend," said Daniels.

"I don't see your name written on it, _pal_," Rick hit back.

"Yes, well, there's only five of you and fifteen of me," Beni said. "Your odds are not so great, O'Connell."

"I've had worse," Rick said in a deadly quiet voice, aiming one of his guns at Beni.

"Yeah, me too," Jonathan agreed, clenching a tiny derringer. Rick and Olivia gave him a sideways glance.

"Oh look, for _goodness' sake_, let's be nice, children," Evy said calmly, walking in the middle of them. She pushed some guns down. "If we're going to play together, we must learn to share. There are _other_ places to dig." She squeezed the top of Rick's arm as she stared at him.

As Rick nodded and gave the Americans a sarcastic smile, they turned away from the statue. "What made you change your mind?" Olivia muttered to Evy.

"Well, there are more chambers below," Evy muttered back as they heard the diggers get to work behind them. The Americans were laughing to themselves. "I think we might be able to dig _under_ Anubis."

Author's Note

Wow! I am so glad you are all enjoying this story so far! I have loved your reviews and seeing the favourites and alerts increase day by day :) Ardeth Bay will DEFINITELY be in the next chapter, I cannot wait for him and Olivia to meet. Until next time! :)


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Soon they had ventured deeper underground and found themselves in another dusty, cobweb-infested chamber. There were these sort of stools which Rick dragged into the middle of the room, and they all stood on one to begin their work on the ceiling.

"According to these hieroglyphics," said Evy, who had found some old parchment in the chamber, "we're underneath the statue. We'll come up right between his legs."

"Cheeky," Olivia joked as Evy blushed and said, "Oh my!"

She got up onto a stool and began to chisel away at the ceiling whilst the other three used sledge-hammers.

"And when those damn yanks go to sleep," said Jonathan, "no offence—"

"None taken."

"—we'll dig our way up and steal that book right out from under them."

"Are you sure we can find this secret compartment thing?" asked Rick.

"Definitely, if those beastly Americans haven't beaten us to it," Olivia replied. "No offence."

"None taken."

"Hey, where did our smelly little friend get too?" Jonathan wondered aloud, referring to the prison warden.

"Lost, hopefully," Olivia said, smirking. "I vote that if he _is_ lost then we leave him here."

"Agreed," they all said.

After an hour of carefully working the ceiling, they all sat down on the stools for a break. Evy was in full swing of talking about the Ancient Egyptian lifestyle, fascinating Rick with her knowledge. Olivia always loved listening to Evy talk about it as she was definitely the better story-teller.

"How about a little game of golf?" Jonathan asked as Evy continued to talk behind them. He picked up a sledge-hammer, and swung at some pebbles.

"I think we'll be the first to play a game of golf at Hamunaptra," Olivia remarked as she took a swing.

Jonathan laughed. "Probably."

"So, let me get this straight," Rick was saying. "They ripped out your guts and stuffed them in...jars."

"And they'd take out your heart as well," Evy said, completely immersed now. "Ooh! And do you know how they took out your brain?"

"Evy I don't think we need to know this," Jonathan said, taking a shot.

"They'd take a sharp, red-hot poker, stick it up your nose, scramble things about a bit and then rip it all out through your nostrils!"

They all winced. "That's gotta' hurt," Rick said, pulling a face.

"It's called mummification, so you'll be dead when they do this," Olivia said casually, swinging her sledgehammer and handing it back to Jonathan.

Rick turned to her and Jonathan. "For the record, if I don't make it outta' here, _don't_ put me down for mummification."

"Likewise."

Jonathan's last shot, however, seemed to trigger or hit something and a huge chunk of the roof gave way. But that wasn't all; a massive stone casement dropped out of the ceiling and crashed to the floor. Olivia, for a few seconds, couldn't see a thing but dust.

"Are you two alright?" she called over to Evy and Rick after coughing.

"Yeah, Jonathan didn't crush us to death."

"Oh _thank_ God."

"Oh my God," Olivia almost squealed in excitement. "It's a sarcophagus!" She absolutely loved finding the Boy King inside his tomb; she couldn't wait to find out who _this_ was.

"Buried at the base of Anubis," Evy said slowly, staring at it. "He must have been someone of great importance...or he did something _very_ naughty."

Evy began to clear the dirt off of the top of the sarcophagus, revealing a single, ominous hieroglyph. Evy and Olivia stared at it in wonder.

"Well, who is it?" asked Jonathan.

"He that shall not be named," the sisters said together.

Rick then blew the dust off of a giant lock. "That is one hell of a lock."

"Well whoever is in here sure wasn't getting out," Jonathan remarked.

"These things are made of quarried granite with a cobalt lining," Olivia said, staring at the size of it. "And it'll have a steel interior."

"Yeah, no kidding," said Rick. "It'll take a month to crack into this thing without a key."

"A key...a key! Now that's what he was talking about," Evy said with an air of understanding.

"Who was talking about what?" Rick asked an equally confused Olivia and Jonathan whilst Evy began rummaging in Jonathan's bag.

"The man on the barge, the one with the hook, he was looking for a key."

She had fished out the puzzle box, and opened it up. "Hey that's mine!" protested Jonathan.

Evy ignored him and showed them what she meant—the box opened up had the same shape as the lock's keyhole. Olivia gasped, and Evy grinned at their find.

Suddenly, they heard screams echoing through the labyrinth, and it was coming towards them. "That sounds like the warden," Olivia muttered as they all took off from the chamber, running towards the noise. Rick and Olivia had their guns at the ready.

He ran wildly at them, clutching his head, screaming—he ran past them, pushing them aside, running straight into a rock wall. He fell to the ground.

They all stared in shock for a moment, breathing hard and wide-eyed. Olivia knelt to the ground beside him, checking for a pulse to make sure. "Dead," she confirmed.

"Well, what do we do with him?" Evy asked quietly.

"Leave him," Rick and Olivia both said.

"Yeah, I'm not touching _that_," Jonathan agreed.

Rick did, however, grab his legs and dragged the body into a very small anti-chamber. "Right, well, I think that's enough for today," Olivia said, trembling slightly. "We'll open up the sarcophagus tomorrow."

"Good idea," Evy agreed. "I could do with some fresh air."

When they made their way back up to the top, it was already dark and the Americans had returned too; Olivia and her group returned to where they had set up camp and Rick got a fire going.

"I'm going to see if the Americans had anything weird happen to them today," Rick muttered to Olivia. "Coming?"

"Sure."

"And they still owe you that money, don't they?" she asked him, smiling.

"That they do," Rick agreed as they made their way down towards them.

"Hey, Daniels," Rick called as they approached their tents. "How about that five hundred dollars?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm getting it," he said, beckoning him over to his tent.

"Olivia," called Henderson, leaving his tent, _shirtless_. Olivia rolled her eyes but smiled as he waltzed over.

"Henderson," she greeted. She frowned when she saw that he wasn't smiling back or even looking remotely cocky; actually, he looked pretty shaken up. "Are you alright?"

"Not really," he muttered, looking at the ground. "Something kinda' awful happened today."

"What?"

"Three of our diggers were..._melted_," he told her, looking up now. "They were opening the compartment under that Anubis fella', and this white stuff just blew out and _melted_ them. They were half-skeletal!"

Olivia gasped. "Oh my God!"

"And the thing is, I began opening it, and if I carried on I woulda' been like those poor bastards," he said quietly.

She looked at him sympathetically, and squeezed his arm in a comforting way—he suddenly came closer to her, pulling her hand as his lips quivered upwards. "Want to join me in my tent, keep me warm tonight, my lucky charm?" he whispered.

Olivia sighed. And she thought he was having a personality breakthrough. "_No_, Henderson, I do not. But thank you for the offer."

He looked genuinely disappointed but Olivia pushed him away when Rick returned, holding a wad of dollars. "Come on Rick, I've got something to tell you," Olivia said quickly, holding his arm and guiding him back to their camp. "You wanted to know if anything weird happened to the Americans today? Well..."

* * *

As they returned to Evy and Jonathan, who were nuzzled up to their campfire, Rick said, "Seems that our American friends had a little misfortune of their own today."

"Three of their diggers were...melted," Olivia told them, sitting down.

"_What_?"

"How?"

"Sounds to me like salt acid. Pressurised salt acid," Olivia replied.

"Some kind of ancient booby-trap," Rick added.

"Maybe this place really is cursed," Jonathan said quietly. Just as he did so, a gust of wind and a whistle blew throughout the camp and the fire flickered. _That was spooky_, Olivia thought.

"Oh for Goodness' sake, you lot!" Evy exclaimed.

"Don't believe in curses, huh?" Rick asked, poking the fire.

"No I don't, I believe if I can see it and I touch it, then it's real. That's what I believe," she said sensibly.

"I believe in being prepared," Rick said as he cocked his rifle.

"Let's see what our friend the warden believed in," Jonathan said, picking up his bag and having a rummage through.

"Ahh!" he yelled in pain, pulling his hand away from the bag.

Evy screamed. "What, oh my God what is it?"

"Oh, a broken bottle," Jonathan said, pulling it out. Olivia smiled, sighing in relief. "Glenlivet, twelve years old! Well he may have been a stinky fellow but he had good taste." He opened the bottle and began drinking from it. Evy and Olivia chuckled.

Then the sound of horses neighing and hooves hit Olivia's ears; she shared a look with Rick who motioned her to follow him. She nodded and got up. "Take this," he said to Evy, handing her his elephant gun to her. "Stay here."

Olivia followed Rick down from their camp through the ruins towards the American camp, which was under siege.

"No, wait for me!" Evy immediately ran after them. Jonathan, taking the bottle with him, shouted, "Evy! Excuse me but didn't the man just say 'stay here'? Evy!"

About two dozen riders in black on horseback were galloping through the American camp, firing rifles, killing the diggers who were running; the Americans leapt out of their tents, firing shots. Olivia raced through the ruins with Rick, shooting a few times at the riders who got dangerously close to them. Olivia saw Evy run to them too, looking ready to shoot; she didn't have time to panic on her behalf as a rider, wielding a scimitar, came at them from behind where Jonathan was drinking and shooting—he ran, screaming, "O'Connell!"

Rick was too busy fighting one of the cloaked men so he couldn't respond; Olivia leapt forward to her brother's defence, but the rider faltered at the sight of her. Olivia almost fell over as the horse ground to a halt—she steadied herself, staring up at him. He was gazing down at her, but suddenly Rick jumped out of nowhere and onto the rider, throwing him off of his horse and to the ground. He jumped up, the cloth covering most of his face fell off and Olivia gazed at him—he had black, wavy hair that fell to the tops of his shoulders and his cheeks were tattooed.

Rick shot the scimitar out of his hands, but Olivia suddenly turned to see Henderson being attacked from behind; she ran forward and shot the man dead, so he landed right next to the American.

"Shit, I'm out of ammunition," she muttered. Henderson heard her and handed Olivia one of his guns. "Here, and thanks for saving my life—you really are my lucky charm," he muttered before running off to defend Burns and Daniels.

Olivia aimed his gun, ready to defend herself some more until she noticed Rick rolling over on the floor, picking up a stick of dynamite and lighting it up. "_Rick_, what are you doing?" she hissed.

Rick had still been fighting the handsome one, and he locked eyes with Olivia as she said those words. "Enough!" he shouted to his men, lowering his weapon, in a thick Egyptian accent. "We will shed no more blood, but you must leave." He looked at Olivia again. "Leave this place or die." He turned, getting back up onto his horse. "You have one day."

Olivia stared as they galloped away, vanishing into the night. Rick blew out the burning fuse, chucking it to the floor.

"Are you alright Livy?" Rick asked in concern.

She let out a long breath, smiling slightly at him using her family nickname for the first time. "Yeah I'm—oh my God Rick, where the hell is Evy?"

He looked around, spotted her and ran towards her. She was lying on the ground but Olivia could have laughed in delight when Rick picked her up gently, tossing the rifle she was carrying away, and caressing her in his arms.

"See, that proves it!" said Daniels. "Old Seti's fortunes' gotta' be under this sand."

"For them to protect it like this, you there's treasure down there," said Henderson.

"These men are desert people," Rick told them. "They value water, not gold."

"You know, maybe just at night," said Burns, who had a half-shaven face, "we could combine forces, hm?"

Olivia, who was gazing into the distance wondering about that handsome rider, noticed Henderson walk past and she said, "Oh here, this is yours. And thanks," she added, as he took his gun back.

He shrugged. "No problem."

"Hey Livy, we're going to move our stuff closer to their camp," Rick told her, as he left with Evy to get their stuff.

She nodded. "Alright. Get mine for me please?"

"Are you _sure_ you don't want to spend tonight in my tent?" Henderson whispered. "We could die tomorrow..."

Olivia sighed, admitting defeat. Maybe he would make her forget about that handsome cloaked man who had intrigued her so; he was their enemy after all. "Just give me a few minutes," she told Henderson.

He grinned and nodded, and she turned, needing to use the bathroom first. Finding a secluded spot on the outskirts of the ruins, Olivia relieved herself and began making her way back to the camp, starting to regret agreeing to stay with Henderson. Before she could think anymore of it however, a hand was slapped to her mouth and another hand grabbed her waist, pulling her to the force behind.

A breath tickled her ear. "Don't struggle. Don't scream. I am alone."

Olivia nodded, and, once satisfied, the man let her go. She turned around immediately before he could try anything else and her breath hitched at the sight of the leader of the men in black; the _handsome_ one.

"_You_," she murmured. He looked her over and Olivia Carnahan, for the first time in her life, felt nervous around a man. _Who the hell is he?_

Author's Note:

There you go! They finally met :) And I need thoughts/opinions/ideas on Henderson: a good little addition to the story or shall I end his interest in Olivia sooner rather than later? Or shall I drag that out a bit longer? Please let me know what you guys think either by a review or send me a message :) again, thanks for your lovely reviews and the alerts and favourites, it's nice to know so many people are reading and enjoying this story. See you all hopefully very soon! :)


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Olivia and the leader of the desert people stared at each other for a few seconds; he looked like he was trying to figure her out.

Olivia just had to say something, _anything_ to break the tension. After all, she had her hand hovering over her pistol and she had noticed his scimitar sitting on his waist. "You could've killed me, yet you didn't," she said, thinking back to when he had halted in front of her only minutes ago. "Why?"

He looked surprised at her question. "I do not know," he admitted. "I just...could not do it. You could have taken your chance too."

She realised that was very true. Him stalling could have lost him his life. But she couldn't do it either. There was another uneasy silence as Olivia wondered who the hell he was, and why he looked so young to be leading those people to kill anyone who dared go to Hamunaptra.

"What do you want?" Olivia asked quietly.

"Answers," he replied, walking closer towards her, almost circling her. "It seems Allah is smiling on you all."

"Why?"

"You're all still alive," he said casually, leaning against a pillar and crossing his arms. "If we cannot kill you then we shall ask you."

"Ask me what?"

"What are you looking for?" His dark eyes pierced hers.

"Er—well my sister is looking for the _Book of Amun-Ra_," she answered truthfully. "So we're just helping her out as it's her greatest ambition. And the Americans, well I think they're just looking for some treasure."

"And that's _it_?"

"Yes..." Olivia narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

He ignored her question. "You heard our terms—be out of there by tomorrow night. Do not look for _anything else_. Take whatever gold you find—and do not return. We mean it."

"What's down there?" Olivia pressed. "You're not protecting the gold—so what is it?"

"I can say no more," he murmured. He came towards her again. "It is not safe for any of you here. Please convince them to leave, if you can."

"And you won't kill us?" she asked, just to double-check.

He smiled slightly. "No. But I am sure none of you will tell people of this place as you would be sending them to their deaths, after all."

"I wouldn't put anything past the Americans..." Olivia sighed. "But I will try my best."

"Thank you," he said sincerely, placing a hand over his heart, "miss...?"

"Carnahan," she told him. "Olivia Carnahan."

"Oh...you were one of them? Who discovered Tutankhamen's Tomb?"

"Yes..." she said cautiously. "Is there a curse on that Tomb?" she blurted out.

He laughed a little, surprising her. "No. We would know about it if there was." _Stupid media_, she thought. Of course the press sucked her in to the stupid notions flying around over some deaths of those who opened the Tomb. "But know this. There _is_ a curse on _this_ place."

"What curse?"

"I have said too much," he murmured. "I must return to my people."

He turned, but Olivia stopped him. "Wait...what's your name?"

"Ardeth. Ardeth Bay," he bowed his head. "**Until we meet again Olivia Carnahan**."

"**Who are you**?" she replied in Arabic, surprising him with knowing his language.

"**I can only say that I am a warrior for God**," he turned away again. "**Me and my people are all warriors for God**."

He disappeared into the darkness, after turning for one last look. Olivia knew he had gone when she heard the sound of hooves gallop away, gradually leaving only silence.

* * *

Returning to the camps, Olivia had noticed that the place had been cleaned up; bodies and rubble had been moved and the fires had been put out. Her group had moved near the Americans; Evy looked on the verge of being drunk. The Americans were all sitting on giant stones around their own fire. Henderson noticed her retuning and jumped up, walking over to her.

"Where the hell have you been?" he studied her face. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah...I just had a run-in with one of those desert people." Henderson growled and whipped out his gun, but Olivia pushed his hand away. "He was just asking me questions, Henderson. I'm fine, really."

He put his gun away. "Well, come on over here and join us."

Beni and Chamberlin were already sleeping it seemed so it was just the Americans left. "What questions was he asking you?" Henderson asked Olivia as they sat down opposite Daniels and Burns.

"Just asked me what we're looking for, and that we must leave tomorrow," she told him.

"What, one of those desert guys?" Daniels asked her. She nodded.

"What _are _you looking for anyway?" she asked them. "Just treasure?"

"Seeking to make our fortunes of course," Henderson grinned. "And have a little adventure along the way."

Olivia rolled her eyes playfully. "Have you found anything yet?"

"A chest," said Burns. "Some of our diggers were melted getting that thing." Olivia thought back to what Ardeth had said about this place being cursed, which she had decided to keep quiet for now. That chest under Anubis must be important and perhaps even linked to this curse...otherwise, why would it have melted those diggers?_  
_

"We're gonna' open it up tomorrow," said Daniels.

"What about you?" Henderson asked her eagerly.

"A sarcophagus," she told them. "But you remember the Egyptian guy travelling with us?" They nodded. "Well he's dead. He's still down there now."

"_What_?"

"How?"

"We don't know," she admitted. "He was running around, screaming about something...and then he ran straight into a wall and died."

"Well I'll be damned," Henderson muttered.

"So how did you lot get involved with Dr Chamberlin anyway?" Olivia asked. "Last I heard he had been expelled from the Metropolitan Museum in New York."

"That he did," explained Daniels. "We were visiting New York at that time, and we said we'd go with him to Hamunaptra, to prove his old employers wrong about this place."

"Said we'd provide the guns if he'd get us here," Henderson continued.

"And then you found Beni."

"He was wanted for deserting the Foreign Legion," said Burns. "So when we heard he was claiming Hamunaptra _did_ exist we took a chance."

A while later, Daniels and Burns retired, leaving just Henderson.

"You know," he said slowly. "A pretty gal like you won't stay single for long. Even if you are an Egyptologist and planning on staying in Egypt for a while."

"Is that so?" she asked, amused.

"It is so," he replied, smiling back. "Which is why I am so forward with ya'. I don't want to leave anything to chance." _Such a cowboy_. He caressed her hand, standing up and beginning to slowly pull her away. He obviously remembered her agreeing to stay with him earlier. She didn't know what he wanted to do _exactly_ but she couldn't take that chance.

"Listen Henderson, I can't...not tonight at least," Olivia said, as she pulled her hand away. "Not here at Hamunaptra or in a tent or with my family just over there." To her surprise he chuckled a little bit and nodded. She was glad she had so many excuses at hand.

"I understand."

"Well...I'll see you tomorrow," she whispered.

"Goodnight Olivia," he said. He grinned and winked at her, something he has a knack for; she returned to her camp.

* * *

"Remind me to _never_ give your sister Glenlivet again," Rick grumbled as Olivia sat down.

"I could have told you that anyway," she joked, looking at Evy who was flat out next to Jonathan.

"So what's the deal with you and Henderson anyway?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?" she said, trying to feign innocence. But nothing was lost on Rick O'Connell.

"You know _exactly_ what I mean," he smirked. "Are you and him...you know—?"

"He's told me he likes me...sort of," she said, omitting some details. "But we haven't done anything about it."

"You're not seriously considering it?" he said, his eyebrows raised.

"Well why not?" Olivia said, defending herself and him. "He's handsome, and—"

"_And_ you're not married," Rick said, looking over to Evy. "What would you sister say?"

"Oh so not being married to a girl has stopped you before has it?" Olivia shot back, crossing her arms. Do people seriously think that every single unmarried young woman is innocent?

"Touché," said Rick, leaning back with his arms behind his head. "You're very different from your sister, d'you know that?"

"I have been told," Olivia said, smiling back at him.

"I guess there's no point in telling you to just be careful of a guy like Henderson because you're more than capable of looking out for yourself, right?"

"Absolutely, but thanks anyway," she said, grinning.

However as she settled down for the night, there was another reason for not giving in so easily to Henderson's advances—apart from the obvious ones, of course. She couldn't get _him_ out of her mind, and it was starting to get annoying as she hardly knew him.

_Ardeth Bay_.

Author's Note:

Thank you for your lovely reviews and for answering my question too :) I have taken your comments on board and I am still considering the outcome. This story is, and will always be, an Ardeth/OC story...I just wanted to experiment with using the Americans more than they were in the film. I cannot wait to get further into and finish this story, and delve deeper into Ardeth, so don't you all worry about that ;) until next time...

4th September Update: Sorry guys, due to some fanfiction error I had to delete and re-post this chapter. Again, I apologize for it not being a new chapter!


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

When Olivia awoke the following morning to a burnt out fire and an unforgiving heat she stared at Evy and Jonathan, who both looked extremely hungover. Evy groaned as she sat up, trying to do something with her wild curly hair. Olivia sat up and stretched as Rick stood next to her, folding his arms, his white shirt untucked and his hair slightly messy.

"Livy, did I tell you what happened last night?" Rick asked her, frowning.

"No?"

"Well, Evelyn, she...she wanted to kiss me," he said, a little sheepishly, staring at her.

"Oh," Olivia said, surprised at how forward Evy was. "And did you kiss?"

"No," he grumbled. "She _passed out_."

Olivia burst into laughter at the thought but soon stopped at Rick's death stare he sent her way, but she smiled. "Oh what's the problem Rick? She _likes_ you and you obviously like her so last night was a step forward in whatever relationship you have going on."

"I never said—"

"It's obvious," Olivia interrupted, grinning at him.

"Do you think she remembers?" Rick asked.

"With the amount of alcohol she consumed, probably not," Olivia admitted. "If she does, she'll probably tell me." Rick nodded. "Oh, actually, I had something to tell you..." She told him what had happened when Ardeth Bay had approached her last night.

Rick stared into the distance, past the ruins and into the desert. "There's definitely something down there...something evil. That just proves it. Why else would he let us take any gold we find?"

"Should we tell Evy and Jonathan?" Olivia asked him, biting her lip.

"No," Rick said immediately. "Let's not worry them."

Olivia thought that translated into _let's not worry Evy_ but she said no more on the subject.

"I can't believe I allowed the two of you to get me drunk," Evy said, somewhat crossly, folding her arms. She had tamed her hair and straightened out her clothes; Jonathan still stank of alcohol. Olivia chuckled.

"Don't blame me, I don't even remember being there," said Jonathan.

Olivia rolled her eyes whilst Evy retorted, "Well neither do I, _thank you_."

"You don't?" Rick asked, looking hurt.

"No..." Evy asked suspiciously. "Why? Should I?"

Rick sighed and shook his head, whilst Evy just looked to the ground nervously.

"Come on," said Olivia. "Let's go and see who our new friend is."

* * *

After they had eaten the four of them headed back down to the sarcophagus chamber, Olivia feeling the anticipation rising inside of her. Who the hell had been randomly buried alone underneath the statue of Anubis?

Evy unlocked it with the key; a series of strange mechanical-like sounds followed, as if triggering an ancient and complicated locking system. It unlocked with a giant hiss. All four of them then started to slide the heavy lid off of the sarcophagus. With every push, shove and groan the lid eventually began to budge, inch by inch.

"Hey Evy," asked Olivia. "What are we going to do about _The_ _Book of Amun-Ra_?"

"What about it?"

"Well...say the Americans find it today?"

Evy stopped, her face strained at the thought. "Oh no..."

But that was when the lid fell off, crashing instantly to the ground. Evy and Jonathan moaned, grabbing their sore heads.

Rick grinned and, with Olivia's help, grabbed the wooden coffin and hauled it upwards so it was leaning against the wall. Evy suddenly seemed to forget about her sore head and joined Olivia in being very excited.

"Oh I've dreamt about this since I was a little girl!" she said, grinning, joining Olivia in brushing off the dirt and cobwebs.

"You dream about dead guys?" Rick asked sceptically.

"Oh come on Rick it's everyone's dream to find a dead person right? It's fascinating," Olivia said, defending Evy and herself. But apparently, judging by Rick's look, it wasn't everyone's idea of a fun time.

"Oh look," Evy said, suddenly frozen to the spot. "The sacred spells have been chiseled off. This man must have been condemned not only in this life but in the next!"

"Tough break," said Rick, unsympathetically.

Olivia however felt a whole load of new nerves enter her thoughts; this has got to be what Ardeth Bay was warning her about last night. "The hieratics and hieroglyphs that protect the deceased on his journey into the afterlife, they've been removed. This man was cursed...doomed." Who were they discovering? A famous figure from the Ancient World, or someone unknown and wiped from history entirely?

"Yeah, I'm all tears," Jonathan said sarcastically, "now let's see who's inside, shall we?"

Olivia and Evy shared a look at how blasé they sounded; Jonathan inserted the key into the lock, turned it and the lid cracked open with another hiss-like sound. Olivia gagged at the foul stench that was released into the air whilst Evy held her throat with watery eyes. They waited in apprehension as Jonathan and Rick began to pull on the lid which was stuck. The lid slowly gave way, and—

"AARGH!"

Olivia clutched her chest in fright as a hideous, maggot-infested and rotten corpse jumped out at them, the lid falling to the floor. It was a twisted and deformed remains of a human body; Olivia could not fathom how old this body must be...thousands of years old. Rick laughed nervously as they crept forwards after jumping back in shock.

"God I hate it when these things do that!" said Evy, breathing heavily.

Olivia however frowned at the corpses' appearance; why did it look so different from the others she had seen? Rick had noticed this too. "Is he supposed to look like that?"

"No...I've never seen a mummy look like this before," Evy said slowly, turning to her sister. "Have you?"

"No," Olivia replied, shaking her head. "He's still..."

"Juicy," Jonathan and Rick said simultaneously, wincing.

"Yes," Evy agreed. "He must be more than three thousand years old and, well, it looks as if he's still—"

"—decomposing," Olivia finished, staring at the corpse in wonder.

"Hey, look at that," said Rick, pointing to the lid on the floor. They all moved to get a closer look—Olivia gasped at the dried blood and the long scratches which covered the inside. "What do you make of this?"

"Oh my God," Evy breathed, "these marks were made with...fingernails." She traced her own fingers down the lines to prove it.

"This man was buried alive," Olivia said quietly, sharing a look with Rick. After what they believed about the place being cursed anyway, what Rick saw when he was last here with the Legion, and what Ardeth Bay had said to Olivia, she definitely had a nasty feeling about this.

"And he left a message," said Evy, as they stared at the grouping of hieratics. Olivia froze when she translated it in her head, reading along with Evy, "_Death is only the beginning_." They nervously turned to stare at the corpse behind them.

Jonathan shivered and Rick suddenly started to look around. "Where's my gun?"

"What are you going to do?" Olivia asked incredulously. "_Shoot_ him?"

"If he decides to wake up then hell _yes_."

* * *

A while later, Olivia was exploring more of Hamunaptra's many tunnels, examining the words and pictures painted onto the walls, finding different kinds of chambers which told Olivia that it was a bustling place, used for many different purposes depending on what side of the city you were in, but not actually finding anything that the history books say about the place—the resting place for the sons of pharaohs and for the wealth of Egypt.

If she was being honest, it was all to take her mind off of Henderson, Ardeth Bay, this place and that corpse. She tried to switch her Egyptologist mind on and study everything around her, brushing and chiselling and finding artefacts. It was fascinating and every Egyptologists' dream but she just felt like she had a lot on her mind.

Olivia had left Evy to examine the corpse, its coffin, its chamber, everything to find out more about him. She had muttered to Rick to keep an eye on her, so as she doesn't activate something bad in the chamber or do something clumsy. Rick nodded and couldn't agree more.

She was soon interrupted from her thoughts as she heard voices and saw shadows from around the corner; it was the American group, and they sounded extremely happy with themselves.

"Oh, Olivia," said Henderson, who approached her. "Look here at what we found today!"

She smiled at how excited he sounded, as the others joined him, holding out what Olivia recognised to be as Canopic Jars. She widened her eyes as the others were holding theirs in triumph too. She hadn't found anything like that whilst she was exploring.

"Where did you find those?" she asked. "May I?" Olivia held her hand out to Henderson.

"Sure," he replied, giving it to her to look at. "We found them in a chest underneath our old buddy Anubis."

"Did you guys find anything?" asked Daniels, as she studied Henderson's jar; they were all carved from typical limestone, encrusted with jewels and had painted wooden heads.

"Just a mummy," she replied, handing Henderson his jar back. "We found him underneath Anubis too...but he was buried alive so these can't be his jars."

Chamberlin widened his eyes at her. "The chest came with a curse," he said quietly. "That if we bring back the undead then he will kill all those who open it."

"So don't bring your friend back from the dead will ya'," Burns said, laughing nervously.

"I really think you should put those back," Olivia warned them. "Remember what _he_ said last night? Take _only gold_. And if there's a curse on that chest..."

"No way," said Daniels. "This is the only thing worth of value we've found so far."

"Are all Egyptologists superstitious?" Henderson asked, in a joking tone.

"Not all of us," Olivia said, thinking back to Evy. "Wait...what is _that_?" She pointed to the big, black book in Chamberlin's hands. That cannot be _The Book of Amun-Ra_.

He held it defensively. "None of your business—_I _found it."

Olivia just felt even more uneasy about everything they've all found today. "As an Egyptologist it is my damn business so I am telling you to _hand it over_. That book doesn't belong in hands such as _yours_."

The Americans stared in surprise at her mood change as she snapped at Chamberlin. He simply said "No!" in a childish way and stormed off.

Olivia scoffed as Daniels and Burns began to mutter between themselves. Henderson however got closer to her. "You know it's getting dark outside...want to head back up?"

"Yeah, ok," she said, gathering her things. She heard Daniels and Burns leave, but Henderson remained.

"So tell me about these things," he said, waving his jar.

"I—really?"

"Yeah," he said, grinning. "I'm _interested_."

"Oh, ok," Olivia said, feeling a little bit shocked but also amused that he's making an effort. "Well, during mummification Egyptians removed the organs and placed them into these Canopic Jars. They believed they would be needed in the afterlife. Those lids represent the four sons of Horus, and each god was responsible for protecting a particular organ, and was himself protected by a companion goddess."

They began to make their way to the top. "And do you know all of the Gods then?" he said, grinning, as if trying to test her.

"Easy. They were: Hapi, the baboon-headed god representing the north, whose jar contained the lungs and was protected by the goddess Nephthys; Duamutef, the jackal-headed god representing the east, whose jar contained the stomach and was protected by the goddess Neith; Imseti, the human-headed god representing the south, whose jar contained the liver and was protected by the goddess Isis; and then yours is Qebehsenuef, the falcon-headed god representing the west, whose jar contained the intestines and was protected by the goddess Selket."

He stared, stunned at her knowledge. "Not just a pretty face then," he teased as they walked outside into the cool but dusty air. "You really do know your stuff."

"I didn't just get a free pass into Howard Carter's team," she said. The American camp and her own camp had now joined together; she remembered Ardeth had asked her to get them all to leave. And they will certainly be back tomorrow to drive them out...

Henderson left, yelling at Burns to be careful with his things so Olivia went to join Rick and Jonathan, who were sitting by the fire. Rick and Beni were roasting chunks of hairy meat over the fire.

She wrinkled her nose at the smell, "What is that stuff?"

"It smells like our late friend, the Warden," said Jonathan, too looking disgusted by it. Rick and Beni both grinned at him and Jonathan suddenly looked horrified. "You did not...we're _not_...?"

Olivia laughed as Rick said, "Rat gizzards. They smell bad and taste worse, but that's the best the desert has to offer."

"Revolting," Jonathan muttered. "I think I'm a vegetarian."

"Where's Evy?" Olivia asked, realising she was not sitting with them.

"Still down with our friend," Rick replied, turning his meat over the fire. "So did you find anything in the end?"

"Not really," Olivia said, sighing. "Nothing out of the ordinary anyway."

It was then that the Americans joined them, sitting on the other side of the fire, fondling their Canopic Jars. "Say, O'Connell, what do you think these babies will fetch back home?"

"We hear you boys found yourselves a nice gooey mummy," said Burns. "Well congratulations."

"You know, if you dry that fella out, you might be able to sell him for some firewood," Daniels said, as they began to laugh.

Olivia sighed as Rick pretended to laugh along. "Look what I found!" she turned to see Evy approach them, holding something in her hand.

"You're in her seat," Rick told Beni, who just scoffed. "_Now_."

"Yep," Beni muttered, moving so Evy could sit by Rick.

"Scarab skeletons," Evy continued. "Flesh-eaters. I found them inside our friend's coffin. They can stay alive for years feasting on the flesh of a corpse." Olivia took one from her hands and began to inspect its skeleton. "Unfortunately for our friend, he was still alive when they started eating him."

Everyone either winced or shivered at the thought. "So somebody threw these in with our guy and they slowly ate him alive?"

"_Very_ slowly," Olivia added.

"He certainly wasn't a popular fellow when they planted him, was he," Jonathan remarked.

"He probably got a little too frisky with the Pharaoh's daughter," Rick suggested, smiling slightly. Henderson winked at Olivia when she dared steal a look.

Evy chuckled. "According to my readings, our friend suffered the _Hom-Dai_."

"_What_?" Olivia gaped. "But that's the _worst_ of all Ancient Egyptian curses!"

"One reserved only for the most evil of blasphemers, yes," Evy said.

"I've never heard of this curse being performed before," Olivia said thoughtfully, that bad feeling about this place returning once again.

"That bad huh?"

"Yes, well, they never used it because they feared it so," Evy told him. "It's written that if a victim of the _Hom-Dai_ should ever arise he would bring with him the ten plagues of Egypt."

"Like what that Moses guy did to that Pharaoh guy?" asked Beni.

"That's one way of putting it."

"Let's see," said Jonathan. "There were frogs, flies, locusts..."

"Hail and fire," Burns added.

"The sun turning black," remembered Henderson.

"Water turning into blood," said Daniels.

"People covered in boils and sores," said Olivia. "Jonathan's personal favourite."

They all shared nervous looks; apparently everyone, apart from Evy, was a little bit spooked from today's findings. She only laughed and pulled a meat stick from the fire. "Fried gizzard anyone?"

* * *

After a mediocre meal Olivia and Evy went to freshen up as best they could before bed; Jonathan and Rick were both falling asleep.

"You know, Evy, we should think about leaving soon," Olivia said nervously as they made their way back to the camp. "Remember what Ar—er, that man said."

"But we haven't found _The Book of Amun-Ra_ yet," Evy said, sighing. "I don't want to come all this way for nothing Livy."

Olivia sighed. "But they'll be back. You know that, right?"

"Then we'll deal with it, _if_ they come back," Evy said in determination, striding ahead. Olivia groaned quietly.

She re-joined the Americans in front of the fire. "You can put those down you know," she said, laughing slightly and referring to the jars they were still holding onto. "They won't grow legs and run away."

"It's _precious_," Daniels insisted.

Olivia laughed again. "So Henderson, what do you do back home anyway?" she asked, genuinely interested.

"Well my parents own a lot of land so I help run their ranches and farms," he replied, playing with his gun. "I'm from the south. What about you? Have you always been interested in Egypt?"

"Well my mother is an Egyptian, so yes," Olivia replied. "My parents were famous explorers so I guess being an Egyptologist is just following in their footsteps. I was educated at Oxford in England and that's where I met Howard."

"Impressive," he admitted, looking at her in admiration.

"Do you think those guys are gonna' come back tonight?" Daniels suddenly asked, biting his lip.

"I don't know," Olivia admitted. "But he gave us one day to leave and we haven't yet..."

"We need to find the treasure before we do," Daniels continued. "We didn't come all this way for nothin'."

Olivia, for reassurance, felt for her pistol. She pulled it out and inspected it; it was useless at the moment as she had used her bullets up last night. "Who taught ya how to shoot?" Henderson asked.

"My father did," Olivia said sadly. "He always carried one with him."

"'Did'?" Henderson asked cautiously.

"They died in a plane crash," she muttered.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said sincerely. She shared a sad smile with him.

"Come on boys, let's get some shut eye," Daniels said, standing up and yawning.

"Yeah I'll be there in a minute." Burns and Daniels headed to their tents, whilst Henderson remained.

"I don't even know your first name," Olivia suddenly realised.

Henderson smiled. "Jack."

"Nice to meet you," she joked.

A comfortable silence fell over them as Olivia stared into the flames, feeling sleepy. Before she knew it her head had hit his shoulder and she had fallen asleep.

* * *

"That's called stealing you know."

"According to you lot, it's called borrowing."

Olivia's eyes fluttered open slowly, and she saw in front of her that Evy had taken that black book from Chamberlin. She carefully moved herself so as to not wake Henderson next to her and joined them.

"You got it!" she whispered excitedly. "Nice move."

"Thanks," Evy grinned, reaching into Jonathan's pocket and taking the key. Olivia noticed that the book's lock matched the sarcophagus' one. There was no way that Chamberlin was getting into this huge book without their key. It would take ages to crack it open.

"I thought that _The Book of Amun-Ra _was made out of gold," Rick said, as they knelt in front of the book.

"It is made out of gold," said Evy. "This isn't _The Book of Amun-Ra_. This is something else."

"I think this may be _The Book of the Dead_," Olivia suddenly realised, staring at its appearance.

Evy nodded to agree.

"_The Book of the Dead_?" Rick asked uncertainly. "Are you sure you wanna' be playing around with that thing?"

Olivia agreed. "It's just a book," Evy said logically. "No harm ever came from...reading a book."

She unlocked the book, and it clicked open. Then she opened up the cover, which caused the fire to flicker. "Spooky," Olivia muttered.

"That happens a lot around here," Rick observed, as they looked at the book nervously.

"Evy, I don't think you should read that thing aloud...you know, just in case," Olivia warned her.

Evy looked at her incredulously as Rick asked, "What's it say?"

"_Amun-Ra. Amun-Dei_," Evy read aloud. "It speaks of the night and of the day." She continued reading in Ancient Egyptian and Olivia sat watching, feeling a sense of dread. Honestly, she was just being silly now—

Right?

Suddenly, Chamberlin had jumped up, running towards them. "NO! You must not read from the book!"

He skidded to a stop as they heard a piercing whining noise coming from the desert; they turned and stared as the sky rumbled and the wind suddenly picked up its pace. It had woken everybody else up as they stared beyond Hamunaptra.

It was getting louder and closer.

"Oh my God," Olivia muttered as a huge wall of locusts swirled into their camp, enveloping everyone

"Run!" yelled Rick, taking Evy's hand.

Olivia yelled out, feeling Jonathan grab her as they ran for the crevice, diving in, fighting off the vermin as they did so.

The four of them began to race down the labyrinth, slapping at themselves and grabbing locusts out of their hair. Rick led the way, his gun outstretched.

"Did you see that?" Jonathan shouted. "There were billions of them!"

"That's one of the plagues, right?" Rick said breathlessly. "The grasshopper plague!"

"Oh well _great_!" Olivia said sarcastically, praying that Ardeth and his men would come to their rescue.

"This is not a plague, it's generational," Evy said, trying to find a logical explanation. "Every so many years the locusts of Egypt have a population explosion and they all take flight."

"Oh you have got to be joking Evy!" Olivia said crossly.

They slowed down to a walk now but they soon heard a squelching noise when Rick first stepped forward. He shone his torch to the ground to reveal the floor filling with slimy frogs. Olivia gasped as they jumped at the sight. "Okay Evy...and what about frogs, huh?" Rick asked her.

And if things couldn't get any worse the ground began to shake; Olivia lost her footing and fell against the wall. Suddenly hundreds of noisy scarabs boiled up out of the sand and began to scurry towards them. They yelled and turned to run back the other way.

"RUN!"

"GO, GO, RUN!"

"Still a population explosion, Evy?" Olivia asked her sarcastically.

They all gasped for breath and sprinted in all kinds of directions as Rick threw his torch at them and then started shooting as a last resort. They happened across a giant ramp of sorts, so Olivia joined Rick and Jonathan by jumping down onto a pedestal; Evy jumped into a grotto on the other side. The herd of scarabs continued in procession up the ramp, scurrying away, their critter noises sending shivers down Olivia's spine. Her ears were ringing, but she breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against her brother as they caught their breaths. The scarabs had gone, for now.

"Evelyn?" Rick called out. Olivia stood and looked up: Evy had vanished.

"EVY!" she yelled in fear.

"EVELYN!"

"Where the hell could she have gone?" Olivia asked nervously, as they jumped onto her grotto.

Rick banged the wall with the end of his gun. "Damn it! Trap door. There must be a switch or something around here someplace." In a panic they began to feel around the wall but the deafening noise of the scarabs was returning.

"RUN YOU SONS OF BITCHES!" hollered Henderson as they flew down the ramp. "RUN!"

He grabbed Olivia as he passed, and she held his hand as he pulled her down the ramp and into the next corridor. "Is this a damn plague?" he asked her, shouting over the din of scarabs.

"Must be!"

Rick overtook them as they ran around a corner. Olivia almost threw up in her mouth as they heard an inhumane roar. "What the hell was that?"

"EVY!" Jonathan and Olivia shouted as they saw her next to Rick. They skidded to a halt at the sight that stood before them.

"What have we done?" Olivia asked desperately to no one in particular. Everything she had ever believed in was put to the test as the corpse they had discovered earlier was _walking_; he even had _new eyes._ She put her hands to her mouth in horror, staring wide-eyed, feeling Henderson grab her. The corpse shrieked at Rick, its mouth stretching to an unnatural size. Rick instantly roared back, shot him and ran. The thing whined, falling to the floor. Olivia and the others did not hesitate as they followed Rick and Evy out.

"Move!"

"Did you _see that_?" Jonathan exclaimed. "It was walking—_it was walking_!"

"Yes we _know_ Jonathan," Olivia said irritably.

They eventually ran back outside; it was now dawn. They were met with the sight of armed mumia so they stopped dead in their tracks and held their hands up in surrender. Chamberlin was already on his knees, clutching _The Book of the Dead_.

Olivia stared as Ardeth Bay stepped forward. "I told you to leave or die. You refused. Now you may have killed us all, for you have unleashed the creature we have feared for more than three thousand years."

His eyes flickered over to Olivia, but this time with no emotion—_different to the other night_. She stared back, holding her ground. It wasn't her fault they wouldn't leave. And it certainly wasn't her fault that Evy bought some creature to life.

"Relax, I got him," Rick said, lowering his arms.

"No mortal weapon can kill this creature," said Ardeth in disbelief. "He is not of this world."

Two of his men then came forward, dragging a whimpering Burns along with them. They stared in shock and Olivia almost recoiled at the sight of Burns—he had _no eyes_. Henderson and Daniels took him from the mumia as he continued to stare out with empty sockets.

"You _bastards_."

"What did you do to him?"

"We saved him!" said Ardeth. "Saved him before the creature could finish his work. Now leave all of you, quickly, before he finishes you all." He gave his men an order and they entered the temple. "We must now go on the hunt and try and find a way to kill him."

"I already told you I got him," Rick said quietly.

Ardeth turned to face him. "Know this: this creature is the bringer of death. He will never eat, he will never sleep. And he will never stop." He glanced at Olivia one last time before he followed his men into the temple.

"Pack up," Rick ordered. "We're _leaving_."

Everybody began to pack up their things in a hurry, not needing to be told twice. Olivia stared at the temple entrance. "So we're just going to leave them in there? He'll kill them!"

Rick shrugged. "They _wanted _too, didn't they? Why are you so bothered?"

"_Fine_," she said angrily, grabbing her things and jumping up onto a camel. Rick frowned but said no more on the subject. Once everybody was packed up, and Burns was thrown up onto his horse, they rode out into the windblown desert.

Olivia turned back and felt an overwhelming sense of guilt over Ardeth. She wasn't sure she would have been _much_ help but still...

_I should have gone in there after him_.

Author's Note:

Oh my God, I am so glad you are all enjoying this! It really means a lot and it makes writing this so worthwhile :) I cannot believe how many reviews/follows/favourites I have already! Thank you all and I hope this chapter did you all justice :)


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